Many devotees believe that the district was the ancient city where Lord Rama had lived while he was traveling to Janakpuri from Ayodhya
Lucknow: After Allahabad to Prayagraj and Faizabad to Ayodhya is likely to be renamed, the Uttar Pradesh government has embarked on yet another name-changing operation. Basti District could be renamed ‘Vashishti Nagar’ or ‘Vashishthi’. The district will be renamed after a Maharishi Vashishta, belonging to the Ramayan era.
The district administration is currently busy with its homework for the purpose, as it assesses the cost involved in renaming the district.
“We want the Basti district to be named after Maharishi Vashishta. A proposal has been sent to the state government in this regard,” said Member of Parliament from Basti, Harish Dwivedi.
Basti District Majistrate Ashutosh Niranjan said that if the renaming takes place, the cost incurred would be an estimated Rs 1 crore.
However, Chairman of the Revenue Board Deepak Trivedi said that he is yet to receive any such proposal. “The proposal is yet to reach us. Once we receive it, we will follow the due procedure to forward the proposal to the government,” he said.
Many devotees believe that the district was the ancient city where Lord Rama had lived while he was traveling to Janakpuri from Ayodhya. Few people also believe that Maharishi Vashishta was the author of the seventh Mandal of the Rig Veda. Some stories dictate that he owned a divine cow called ‘Kamdhenu’, believed to fulfill devotees’ wishes.
Last year the demand for renaming Basti started after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the upcoming Basti Medical College will be named after Maharishi Vashishtha.
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